Blame it on the Ministers; blame it on the Businessmen; blame it on the Superstars, but our Indian marriage ceremonies are seeing a hefty rise in expenditure. From the plush decorations to the royal wedding cake, from the theme based marriages to the high definition images, from the biggest venues to the largest dinner menus, if you have the bucks to give, you have the best wedding experience.
Gone are the days, when people used to involve them with the functions and considered it as a moral duty to serve all the guests. With the much ‘show sha’ around, the real flavor of the true Indian wedding is getting lost. Who is to be blamed? Let’s find out.
1. The daily soaps: We get influenced by what we see, don’t we? Don’t we have an inherent desire to dress up in the same ‘heavy designer saree/lehnga’ or ‘sherwani’ as worn by the famous daily soap stars? Those big rich tycoon families being telecast, ‘The Viranis’, ‘The Modis’, ‘The Goenkas’, wear dresses such as these, the cost of which hover anywhere around 20,000 bucks.
The race behind getting that dazzling look from the designer bridal dresses to the groom’s most expensive Mojdis pinches hard on the wallet. Those who argue its one time investment, forget it is only for one time indeed.
2. Parlour Rush: Shehnaz Hussain may be the trendsetter, but now we have a chain of brands that charge tremendously, for making it perfect for your ‘D-Day’. You have sittings for months before you dazzle the red carpet like a diva. Boys are no exception here and one can easily find several beauty salon for the grooms which charge for the perfect eyebrow arches to the facial glow on the face. No more home-made Haldi chandan or Uptan enlivens the skin.
3. Gold is old: There is no typing error here. Old is Gold is the long forgotten proclamation. Time for the Platinum saga has ushered in. People come in with demands for Platinum rings and chains. Presumably Gold ring doesn’t suit their class.
Diamond jewelry has found its own niche. Has Gold become as ‘cheap’ as that? Really? If gold is in actuality inexpensive, I want my article to be written in golden letters! Wink!
4. Gaadi bula rahi hai: She is your own daughter. Don’t you want her to go in a big luxury car from your house? The grooms usually ask for such cars which they always dreamed of owning. What is better time than this to own it? The state of mind has to change for this hunger to end. If you cannot have it on your own, you better don’t ask for it. But moral education? Didn’t we sleep through that ‘no dowry’ lecture in our school days..Duh!!
5. Bad examples: The world is a place of boasters these days. If one books a big venue, the other would book a bigger one, just to show off. Amid these show offs are grinded the middle class mango people who just have to buckle to the demands of the groom’s family. Once a large venue is booked, the menu should be larger than life. There is always too much food flowing around the venue. From the cold pastas to the golgappas, from Dosas to mocktails, cocktails, Chinese and of course the main course.
A person of a normal appetite can generally never eat all of this in one night. The Groom’s side demands it with a saying ‘Ji, Dekhiye, Hamara ek hi beta hai, shaadi toh achhi honi hi chahiye’, and the Bride’s side succumbs to it. Adding masalas to these sillyness are movies like ‘Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya’ which help in perpetuating such charades.
We are running a rat race blindfolded, copying each other, without realizing that in this mad rush of events, of Show off, of false pride, we forget that it is the bride and the groom whose new life should be given a good head start. We focus on what other people would think of the marriage and never end up realizing what the marriage would end up to.
Those who have surplus should set ideal examples of marriages. If you have surplus, give it to the newlyweds, to secure their future, since everyone forgets a plush dinner of one night. Remember life is not about one moment, but a series of moments; so to decorate one moment, don’t let the glitter of the other moments fade away…coz thatslyf.
